complete verse (John 4:41)

Following are a number of back-translations of John 4:41:

  • Uma: “From there, even more townspeople believed in Yesus, because they heard his words for themselves.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “While he was still there many more people believed in Isa because of his teaching to them.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “There were many more who believed in Jesus because of his preaching to them.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Many more believed in him on-account-of what he was saying.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Those who believed increased-in-number because they now heard his teaching.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “Many more believed when they heard Jesus speak.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

He deliberately took time to draw near to social outcasts (image)

“Jesus is dressed in a different style of clothing than the style of the woman who is shown as a Lanna Thai northerner. It is unusual for him to talk to a person from a different region, especially a woman. The clothes, the roof of the house in the background, and the dipper for water all indicate that this is in northern Thailand.”

Drawing by Sawai Chinnawong who employs northern and central Thailand’s popular distinctive artistic style originally used to depict Buddhist moral principles and other religious themes; explanation by Paul DeNeui. From That Man Who Came to Save Us by Sawai Chinnawong and Paul H. DeNeui, William Carey Library, 2010. . For more images by Sawai Chinnawong in TIPs see here.

See also The woman at the well (image).

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Woman at the Well .

The woman at the well


Following is a painting in the Hamzanama style:

The woman at the well, 2017-2018, Paul Abraham with Manish Soni, Opaque watercolour and natural pigments on hand-made paper, © Sarmaya Arts Foundation. (2018.33.5)

Following is a painting by Ketut Lasia (b. 1945):

Ketut Lasia is one of the last traditional Balinese painters in the Ubud style. As an adult, Lasia converted from Hinduism to Christianity, and he paints primarily biblical scenes. You can find artwork from Ketut Lasia in a variety of formats for sale at Fine Art America .

See also He deliberately took time to draw near to social outcasts (image).

The following artwork is part of a series of 56 paintings on biblical themes by Kazakh artist Nelly Bube (born 1949):

Copyright by Norwegian Bible Society , used with permission.

For other images of Nelly Bube in TIPs, see here.

Translation commentary on John 4:41

In Greek this verse actually begins with “and,” but the conjunction marks the continuation of the discourse, and it is unnecessary to translate it.

It may be necessary in some languages to state specifically the nature of the contrast expressed in the comparative more. It may be made explicit by saying “Many believed because of what the woman had said, but many more believed because of what Jesus said” or “In comparison with the many who believed because of what the woman said, many more believed because of what Jesus said.”

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on the Gospel of John. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1980. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

SIL Translator’s Notes on John 4:41

4:41

many more believed: During the time Jesus was in Sychar, he continued to talk to the people about God. This caused many more of the people to believe in him. In some languages, it is more natural to supply the object of the Samaritans’ belief, that they believed in Jesus. For example:

There were many more who believed ⌊in Jesus⌋

believed: This word includes the idea of believing the facts about who Jesus was, accepting him as the Messiah, and what he did. But it also includes the idea of trusting Jesus instead of trusting oneself or someone else. Both ideas are very closely related. If someone believes the facts about Jesus, it should result in trusting him. See how you translated this idea in 4:39. Here are other ways of translating this word:

became believers (Revised English Bible)
-or-
put their faith in Jesus (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
trusted in him

because of His message: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as because of introduces the reason why more Samaritans started to believe in Jesus. They believed because of what Jesus told them while he was staying with them. For example:

Many more Samaritans believed because of what Jesus said. (God’s Word)

His message: The Greek phrase that Berean Standard Bible translates as His message means “what Jesus said.” In some languages it may be more natural to say:

because of his words (New International Version)
-or-
because of what they heard him say (Contemporary English Version)

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